season three

Yesterday, Brad told you about how the 'Mad Men' powers that be are figuring out how to improve their chances at the Emmys. It was strange to think that a show as successful as 'Mad Men' was angling for a way to get more awards, but there is a reasoning behind the strategy. You see, even though 'Mad Men' has consistently been honored for the show and the writing and direction, the actors -- Jon Hamm, January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, John Slattery, Christina Hendricks, etc. -- have been shut out. That's irksome. Not one Emmy for acting. Plenty of nominations, but no wins.

(S03E01) As originally planned, this season opener of 'In Plain Sight' was supposed to have run last season, but when Mary was shot and left clinging to life, USA Network and all the other brainiacs involved with the show decided to give us a cliffhanger. Not that there was ever really any doubt that Mary would survive, because without Mary in the middle, there's really no show.

Nevertheless, it was refreshing to see the new season kick off with Mary not clinging to life, but instead being the world's worst patient. More on her return to active duty and Marshall's green cashmere scarf and cheese danish theories after the jump.

A week ago with 'Dancing With the Stars' returned for the current season, a new episode of 'Castle' aired afterwards and did something it had never done before. It beat 'CSI: Miami' in the ratings. Not a rerun of 'CSI: Miami.' No, it was a fresh, Horatio Cane dealing with his son episode. Now, normally, that's a slam dunk for CBS. However, 'Castle' took the hour.

This is all a way to explain the following: ABC has renewed 'Castle' for another season. ABC is not just jumping on a strong pairing of 'Dancing' and 'Castle,' because you can't count on that always being the best draw of a Monday night.

This is really, really good news. This is the kind of news that has to make every television fan cheer ... and breathe a sigh of relief. The season three premiere of 'Breaking Bad' was seen by two million viewers. For a network show, that would be cause for alarm. For AMC, it's a reason to celebrate. Those two million viewers were the most to ever tune in to an episode of 'Breaking Bad.' Did you hear that, world? 'Breaking Bad's' most-watched episode ever.

The numbers were spun, naturally, and they got even better. There were two repeats of 'No Mas' that night, and the total number of viewers climbed to 3.3 million.

'Breaking Bad' comes back for its third season this Sunday on AMC (10PM ET / 9PM CT), and after watching the last few episodes of season two, the new season can't come soon enough. The dramatic ante was upped for meth-making science teacher Walter White (a role for which Bryan Cranston won another Emmy) and his partner Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), and the season ended with the fallout of Walter's actions spreading from his family to the greater Albuquerque area.

Creator and executive producer Vince Gilligan is the man behind the dark but wryly amusing world of 'Breaking Bad.' After watching the first two season three episodes while I was at the TCA tour in January, I got a chance to sit with Gilligan poolside at the Langham Huntington for a few minutes.

We talked about the "holy crap" moment of season two, on how he and Cranston see Walter differently, how many seasons he envisions the show running, how Walter might transform over the season's run, and what it's like to be on the same network as 'Mad Men.'

One of the mantras that any fan of 'The Apprentice' has heard over the show's nine Donald Trump-filled seasons is that "You never know who Mr. Trump is going to fire."

It's the aspect of the show that makes it unique in the sea of reality contest shows on the air right now. There's no panel of judges conferring on who should be eliminated, no one getting the ax because they came in last. No, the outcome of each episode is purely up to Donald Trump.

And that's where the show runs into its biggest problem, especially now that celebrities are involved.

It goes without saying that Trump's got an ego that's bigger than the tower that bears his name. But he's made firing decisions in the last couple of 'Celebrity Apprentice' seasons that really made me think he was acting more like a TV producer than a shrewd businessman. And if last night's season premiere is any indication of what Trump is thinking this year, 'The Celebrity Apprentice' is going to be tough to watch.

Spring is definitely on the way, and not just because we'll be spring forward with the clocks this weekend. No, it's on TV that spring is busting out all over. 'Army Wives' is returning with a new season, 'Glee' is coming back to finish this season, even 'Friday Night Lights' will finally commence on NBC -- after already having a complete run on DirecTV. One of the premieres that's got me intrigued is the March 31st 'In Plain Sight' on USA Network.

(S03E16) If you wonder where the excitement is in entertainment, you're probably not watching 'Burn Notice.' However, if you're reading this review, you probably are a watcher and you have just gorged yourself on what was mostly called a season finale.

In some ways, it was a typical 'Burn Notice' finale, leaving Michael in a seemingly puzzling situation. This was ranked up there with one of the more intriguing ones. It was everything creator Matt Nix promised it would be. More on that, the client named Simon, and how to hot-wire a jet ski after the jump.

There hasn't been much to cheer about coming from NBC of late, unless you consider the upcoming Winter Olympics worth jumping up and down about, or you've been happy about Chuck's return. The Leno-Conan business has just been nasty, the resolution bungled and the prospects for new product unexciting.

Like CBS's vote of confidence renewal for How I Met Your Mother earlier this week, this was a great move by NBC and a sign that somebody at 30 Rock -- the real NBC, not the Alec Baldwin/Tina Fey version -- sees quality and has rewarded it.

On March 21, Breaking Bad is back. That's right, AMC is bringing back one of the best dramas on television that's not Mad Men when Breaking Bad returns for Season Three with an episode starring and directed by Emmy-winner Bryan Cranston.

The episode, "No Mas," means "No More" in Spanish and it will be interesting to see how creator Vince Gilligan picks up the threads from the Season Two finale. For fans of the show, that means we're finally going to know what's happened to Walter during and after the plane crash. That's just an assumption because when it comes to Breaking Bad, you're never truly sure what's going to happen next.

This Sunday night, Chuck returns to NBC for a special two-episode, two hour jump start into season three. Expect to be dazzled. NBC was good enough to send an impressive press kit for Chuck's new season, including five episodes.

For those of you who were concerned about how the show would handle the many changes promulgated by the end of last season, you can relax. While it's no spoiler to reveal that Chuck now has the fully integrated Intersect 2.0 inside his head, complete with martial arts skills and other talents (Flamenco guitar?) it's also not a surprise that having all that in his brain doesn't mean that life is any easier for a simple, Burbank IT guy.

One of the pleasures of blogging here at TV Squad is getting a press kit from a network to promote a new or returning show. Sometimes it's just a folder with a screener. Sometimes it's a cornucopia of doo-dads and tchotchkas that might be cool. I've seen some reviewers build an entire wardrobe from press kit tee-shirts, hoodies and caps. So, it was with real excitement -- like the anticipation of a birthday gift -- when Fedex turned up with NBC Entertainment Publicity's big box of promotion for Chuck.

Weiner confirmed it and spoke about some other bits and pieces from the Mad Men finale. He was in a giving mood. It wasn't just the holiday season, either. Mad Men had a great week in award nominations -- Golden Globes, Writers Guild and Screen Actors Guild.

Another bright spot for the show? The series' second season finale, "Na Triobloidi," smashed the show's previous ratings record to make it the most watched Sons episode to date.

4.33 million total viewers tuned in and from that total, 2.99 million were in the coveted Adults 18-49 demographic. Men 18-49 chalked up 1.92 million viewers. With those numbers, the show secured the crown for the top scripted drama series during the season's 13-week run in the Tuesday 10 p.m. timeslot in average delivery of the Men 18-49 demo.

One other point worth noting -- Sutter signed a two-year deal to continue as executive producer and showrunner. So, unless something goes terribly wrong, there's a good chance Sons of Anarchy will have a fourth season in its future as well.

Good thing, too, since last night's season two finale, "Na Trioblidi," had one helluva cliffhanger. Beyond that, Sutter's interview with Sepinwall also served as a nice post-mortem of the season and he offered plenty of info on where season three is likely headed. Spoilers after the jump, so read on at your own risk.